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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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Biden seeks 9.4% increase in SBA discretionary funds in 2022Boosting federal contracts to Small Disadvantaged firmsPresident Joe Biden released his topline fiscal 2022 discretionary budget request, including a $74 million increase for the Small Business Administration. The topline budget sets broad goals but does not include detailed line items. Those details are expected later this spring, which is typical timing for the first year of a presidency. The SBA’s discretionary budget would rise to $852 million, from the $779 million enacted level for fiscal 2021, which is a 9.4% increase. A large portion of the increase would go toward fulfilling the president’s previously-stated goal of raising the share of federal contracts awarded to Small Disadvantaged Businesses to 15% by 2025. To support that goal, the White House wants to allocate $31 million more to SBA’s Entrepreneurial Development programs to support women of color and other underserved entrepreneurs. The funding would pay for free counseling, training and mentoring services. Also to support that goal, Biden’s request provides additional staffing for SBA’s government contracting programs. SBA racial equity and access To advance racial inequity and eliminate barriers for minority-owned firms, the White House is asking for $70 million for economic development grants and research to ensure policies support the minority business community. That is an increase of $22 million over last year’s enacted level, the White House documents stated. There also is $330 million, an increase of 22.2%, for Community Development Financial Institutions, which offer loans to startups and small businesses to promote housing and other community revitalization projects. SBA Innovation programs Biden’s 2022 budget allocates $30 million for programs that help startup technology firms, including Growth Accelerators, Regional Innovation Clusters and the Federal and State Technology Partnership. That is an $18 million increase over the fiscal 2021 enacted level. There also is a boost for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. There’s also $10 million in new funding to help small businesses become more resilient against climate change and support clean energy. Velazquez comments Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, who chairs the House Small Business Committee, praised the budget request. “Sparking an equitable small business recovery is a priority for the Biden administration. This proposal reflects the administration’s commitment to our nation’s small firms by increasing SBA funding by 9.4% compared to 2021 funding levels,” she said in a news release. Other agency budget requests Overall, Biden is seeking $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending authority for fiscal 2022. The goal is to partially replenish spending for agencies that had been cut drastically in the last several years, hampering America’s ability to respond to the pandemic and to climate change, among other priorities. When Biden took office, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s budget was 10% less than it was 10 years ago, adjusted for inflation. Also, funding for the Environmental Protection Agency had been cut by 27% since fiscal 2010. “The President believes now is the time to begin reversing this trend,” the White House budget plan states. Here are the proposed increases to departmental budgets, according to a Washington Post analysis. These do not include mandatory spending or disaster/emergency spending:
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